Weekly Updates

JHSC Newsletter 10/11/2013

Dear JHSC Families,

One of my favorite parts of my job is talking with community members about JHSC. This week, I spoke with the directors of BBYO, USY, and NCSY (these are Jewish youth groups). In talking with them, and later following up with our students, I found out that in our student body we have three chapter presidents, a regional vice president, six chapter vice presidents or senior leadership positions, and one of our graduates was voted "NCSY'er of the year" for the entire New England region, the highest honor available. Well over half of our student body belongs to a youth group.

Take a look at the specifics of these youth group leadership positions that our students have held the past few years:

Vice President of Judaism and Community Service

Vice President of Membership

Regional Start-Up Chair

Vice President of Programming

Regional Summer Experience Chair

Chapter President

Vice President of Religious Education

Director of Jewish Programming, Community Service, and Israel Advocacy

Social Action Chair

Secretary

Treasurer

I am proud that JHSC and its community partners are raising new generations of Jewish leaders who will create and shape our future. Kol HaKavod, students!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Yonatan Yussman, Ed.D.

Head of School

College Counseling Update

Dr. Sack, our Director of College Guidance, led a workshop for Juniors this past Wednesday. She will be holding an important workshop for Freshmen and Sophomores, and their parents, on October 23rd at JHSC from 6:30pm-8:00pm.

PSAT/PLAN

For those students who signed up for the PSAT, please be advised that the test will be held in the Community Room on October 16th, starting promptly at 8:45am. For those who signed up for the PLAN, that test will be held in the Community Room on November 4th, starting promptly at 8:45am as well. Both tests will end at approximately 11:30am, after which students will return to classes.

Comparative Religion Course Update

Rabbi Riemer's Comparative Religion course is now well into its first major topic: a comparison of Judaism and Christianity, with particular emphasis on theological background and parting of the ways between Pharisaic Jews and early Christians in the Roman era.

Rabbi Riemer writes: "It is fascinating for the students to think about how Jewish heritage could be so dramatically transformed, in Christian practice, into something strikingly unfamiliar, or at least profoundly different from what we as Jews understand by religion. I am especially struck by the value this study experience has for my students as Jews. It provides a kind of shock of recognition: in reflecting on another religious culture, they are learning, I think, to appreciate their own all the more! As a teacher and rabbi I am thrilled by what I see as a very intellectually and spiritually engaged, enthusiastic group of students--who (each in his and her delightfully unique way!) bring their Jewish knowledge, sensibilities and commitments into the discussion. Conversations in class are both serious and high-spirited."

Math Class Update

Ms. Mastros' CP math class has been working on a project to (theoretically) redesign her classroom. The students had to utilize their skills in algebra and geometry to make a scale drawing of the room and its furniture, and rearrange the classroom. They also had to figure out how much tile they needed for flooring, how much paint was needed on the walls based upon the square footage of the room, how much they needed to spend, and so on. It was a fantastic way to apply the algebra and geometry they have learned.

Additionally, Ms. Mastros taught the mathematics behind the interesting fact that it will be another 80,000 years before Thanksgiving and Chanukah appear on the same date. More information about that occurrence can be found here.

Can Jewish Women Have It All?

JHSC Trustee Doris Zelinsky will participate on an intergenerational panel from a variety of professional backgrounds and Jewish affiliations. The panel will explore the age-old balance of work and life through the lens of Jewish women. This event is co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Greater New Haven, and Women's Philanthropy. Please come out and support Doris! Further details can be found here.

American History Class Update

In American history class, Mr. Kordik's students are re-creating one of the classic debates in American history. They are conducting a debate that pits Federalists against Anti-Federalists in an argument over the ideal strength of the national government. Federalists, of course, will be arguing for a strong central government, while the Anti-Federalists will argue for a loose confederation of states.

Engineering Course Update

As part of the robotics module of Dr. Castle's engineering course, students were split into two teams and challenged with designing, building and programming a robot to navigate a course. Using Lego Mindstorm and NXT, the students had access to an array of sensors (e.g. ultrasonic, photosensor, touch sensor), parts (e.g. cogs, wheels) and several servo motors, along with a programmable unit that acts as the controller for the robot. All of the students demonstrated tremendous effort, enthusiasm and creativity. Please enjoy the video below:

College Representative Visits

JHSC welcomes visits from representatives of colleges and universities. Already, we have had visits from universities such as Boston University and Brandeis, and we look forward to upcoming visits from schools such as Wellesley, Yeshiva University, and University of Michigan.

Open House

Our Open House will be on October 20th from 1pm-3pm at JHSC. Please help us spread the word about the Open House and invite as many prospective families as you can. Families can RSVP for the Open House here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/OnlineRSVP

Kristalnacht Speaker

On November 8th at 10:00am in the Community Room, we will have a guest speaker in memory of the anniversary of Kristalnacht. This awful event, often translated as "Night of the Broken Glass", marks the beginning of state-sponsored Nazi violence against the Jews of Germany. Many consider it to be the beginning of the Holocaust.

Holocaust survivor Judith Kallman will be coming to speak with us on that date. She has recently published a memoir of her experience in the Holocaust. She has been kind enough to give each student a copy of her book, entitled "A Candle in the Heart".

Parents and community members are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP to tblume@jhsct.org.

Planned Parenthood Workshop

On October 18th, Sarah Gannon from Planned Parenthood of Southern New England will be visiting JHSC to conduct a workshop for our students. A permission slip was emailed home to parents; please return it as soon as possible.